Balaur
by bb1028
Summary: It's been a few weeks since the fiasco with the Mjolnir and the brother's are working their next job. Cal's convinced Goodfellow to tag along when the job throws them another curveball. Follow-up to "The Mjolnir".
1. Chapter 1

**Summary:** It's been a few weeks since the fiasco with the Mjolnir and the brother's are working their next job. Cal's convinced Goodfellow to tag along when the job throws them another curveball. Follow-up to "The Mjolnir".

**AN: **This story takes place a few weeks after mine and Ames' story, but it's not necessary to read that one to understand this. I started writing this a while ago and after some poking and prodding from Amy I decided to finish it up for her.

So big thanks to her for helping me make this better and Dana for the beta!

**Spoilers/warnings: **No spoilers, this story falls into the timeline between _Nightlife_ and _Moonshine_, and the only warning is the language. Then again this _is_ Cal, so is the warning really necessary?

Read, review, and I hope you guys like it!

xxx

"Oh, you were _serious_?"

Sometimes I really wondered why I bothered. Rolling my eyes I ran through a dozen different remarks that came to mind. I settled on one of the least offensive. "Does it look like I'm pulling your leg? _Yeah,_ I'm freaking serious."

Robin looked at me like I had sprouted a tail or some other odd appendage. "And why would I want to do that?"

Having a conversation with the puck was like pulling teeth. He'd only just arrived and I was already loosing what little patience I had.

"Why not? It'll be fun. You, me, and Nik… It'll be like old times."

I heard a snort from somewhere behind me and figured it was best to just ignore my big brother. I wasn't a freaky genius like him, but I was smart enough to pick my battles. One pain in my ass at a time. Plus, I'd learned a long time ago that I'd never win against Nik. Goodfellow on the other hand…

I looked at him expectantly.

"No." Figures, and if he shook his head any harder it'd probably fall off.

I shifted in my seat, getting comfortable. At this rate I was going to be here for a while.

Niko was doing something in the kitchen, probably cleaning. My brother the neat freak… It was better him than me. If I played my cards right I figured I had a little more stalling time before my brother came up with new and creative ways to get me to do my laundry, or worse, the _dishes_.

I cringed at the thought of chores and possible persuasive tactics, and focused once again on the task at hand.

"Well why the hell not? It's not like you have anything better to do. We go, take care of business, and get paid. Simple. And who knows, this shit could even be a little entertaining." I tried for a hopeful look, but who was I kidding? Still, I was determined to win. The puck didn't stand a chance.

"For one, I already have a job, thank you very much. My current occupation is more than enough to cover my expensive tastes." He smirked, and held up two fingers. "And two, it is one thing to deal with the filth in this city out of necessity. It is an entirely different story to do it for shits and giggles. I refuse to deal with the psychotic…" He waved his arms in the air, searching for the right term. It obviously wasn't working. "…_Whatever_, that crawl around in the sludge they consider city streets and find it entertaining to dine on anything that crosses their paths. Not to mention I'm hardly dressed for the occasion, and--"

I raised my hand, interrupting his rant.

"Are you done?" If he went on any longer I was likely to fall asleep. It was bad enough that I could see my bed through the doorway across the room. It was calling to me, and my lazy ass didn't need much persuasion to listen. "It'd be much easier if you'd just say 'yes' and be done with it. You're coming anyway so it really wasn't much of a question."

I crossed my arms and gave Robin a smug smirk. I had it all planned out, and Loman not tagging along would throw a monkey wrench into the itinerary.

"Is that right?" God, the puck could be annoying.

Ignoring Goodfellow's question I swiveled around in my seat in search of Niko's assistance. "Aren't you going to help?"

"Nope." Jesus. If I didn't know any better I'd think they were in on this shit together. Was it freaking annoy-the-hell-outta-Cal day or something?

I threw my hands up. "What the hell? Why not?"

"Because I'm finding it more entertaining to watch your poor attempts of persuasion." The corners of my brother's lips were twitching, and I groaned. Bastards.

"Well that's just great. I'm glad I could provide your entertainment for the day. Now how about we get serious and you tell Loman that he's coming with us tonight and we just leave it at that." It really was that simple, I didn't understand why they were making this shit more complicated than it had to be.

"You do realize the longer you continue on the younger you sound, right?" Niko looked thoughtful for a second, walking slowly through the kitchen and into the living room where we were sitting. He was drying his hands off on a small towel, and I couldn't help the slow roll of my eyes. Big brother would make a great wife someday. "I'd say about twelve, maybe ten."

"What the hell are you going on about?" I asked. My brother had the ability to confuse the hell out of me like no one else could.

Robin snorted. "With all this whining? I'd say about eight, maybe even six. I've seen toddlers that didn't throw fits as bad as this one."

I scowled. It was hard not to in the company I was in. Between my brother and Goodfellow they were enough to drive anyone to drink. So what if I was acting like a kid. After our last job I wasn't exactly thrilled about getting back on the bandwagon. We'd found out the hard way how easily the shit could hit the fan, and I wasn't looking forward to this 'easy' job. Easy my ass. The last easy job we'd had nearly put us all six feet under. I couldn't really be blamed for wanting a little backup. At least I thought so.

"Hilarious." Then again, I wasn't sure I could deal with _this _backup_. _Robin was likely to drive me over the edge before anything else got the chance to kill my ass.

I looked over at my brother. He was watching me, and I knew he could see right through my act. I wouldn't have even bothered with the charade if I didn't think I could use it to possibly get Goodfellow to go along. But a quick look towards the puck told me that Robin was just as quick to pick up on my hesitance as my brother.

I gave the puck a slight shrug and a look that clearly said I didn't want to talk about it, and turned back to my brother.

"Nik--" I wanted to cut him off at the pass. It was one thing for him to know what my problem was, it was a whole other story to sit and beat the issues to death. It was done, we were still alive and kicking, and the sooner I got over it the better.

"Cal…" He started, his voice the comforting tone that had always put me at ease. But I didn't want to hear it. I put my hand up, and shook my head. I knew I was being stupid. This new career of ours wasn't meant to be easy, but they weren't all going to be like our last fiasco. I just had to remind my gut of that fact. Just the thought of a repeat performance had my stomach in knots. If I never saw another fucking hammer, apocalyptic or not, it would be too soon.

"Forget it. It's not a big deal." And if I said it a few hundred more times I might even start to believe it. "Let's just get this shit over with."

Niko nodded, understanding in his gray eyes. There was never any question that I had an awesome big brother. How many people had a freakin' ninja for a brother? For that matter, how many people had a brother who had dedicated himself to keeping his trouble magnet of a little brother's ass alive? Yeah, I was full of fucking guilt. Just what I needed when all I wanted to do was crawl into bed and pretend that the last few months… hell, the last few _years _had all just been a really fucked up nightmare.

"We don't need to leave for a little while still." Niko explained looking between me and Robin. "It's best to go when it's dark. There shouldn't be anyone around to interfere so we can go in, get the job done, and be home before your bedtime, Cal."

Niko gave me a teasing smirk, and I ran with the easy out and familiar bantering. "_My_ bedtime? I may sleep 'til noon, but I'm not the one that normally goes to bed before the sun has even gone down Grandpa."

Nik gave me a slow nod, and took a small step forward. "Grandpa, huh?"

A wide grin spread across my face but I wasn't an idiot, not really. I was already out of my chair and taking a step back before I opened my big mouth again. "Uh huh. All that going to bed early, getting up at the ass crack of dawn… hell I think I even saw some prune juice in the fridge." A quick glimpse at Goodfellow and I could see the puck practically vibrating with suppressed laughter. At least he was getting a good laugh out of me digging myself into an early grave. "I don't know, big brother. A few more wrinkles and gray hairs and you could be eligible for a membership at the local country club and senior citizen discounts at the stores."

I may not have been a complete idiot, but where Niko was concerned I was definitely too slow. I didn't even get the chance to turn around, never mind run.

I grunted when my back connected with the floor, and had to make an effort to get the air back into my lungs. Of course it would have been a hell of a lot easier if I didn't have all of my brother's weight on my chest, but from this angle I didn't have many options. It was usually best to just go with the flow, accept the fact that my big brother was once again wiping the floor with my ass, and then just whine and complain like hell afterwards.

"Now _this_? This is entertainment."

Both our gazes swung to the puck. He was sitting back on our couch, arms crossed, and his feet perched on the coffee table. He was the picture of comfort and contentment. Judging by where his eyes were focused I was guessing that the appreciative look on Goodfellow's face wasn't from our impressive sparring skills but more from his view of my brother's backside. I groaned again, only this time it had nothing to do with my brother tossing my ass. I looked up and had to laugh at my brother's face. It was a cross between disturbed and annoyed and I had to wonder when that annoyance would lead to Goodfellow being the one on the floor. Then again… the puck would probably enjoy it. I shuddered at the thought.

"Might as well get used to it big brother, I don't think he's going anywhere." I felt bad for Niko, really I did. However, my sympathy didn't keep the stupid grin off my face… and once again I was airborne.

I hit the coffee table, knocking Robin's feet off the edge. He huffed in annoyance before sitting up fully. "Damn straight I'm not going anywhere. You should always be careful what you wish for. You wanted my help, now you're stuck with me."

I grumbled about 'stupid ideas' and tried to remember what we had even needed a freaking car for in the first place while I slowly pushed myself up from the floor. Freaking Grendels. It was bad enough they'd had the leading role in fucking up our lives, now we had them to thank for the puck currently taking up space on our couch. They were officially off our Christmas card list, family or not.

"Lucky us," I replied dryly, "Should have fucking hitchhiked our asses out of New York… bought a damn car somewhere else."

Robin considered that for a second before smirking. "With that face, people would be more likely to speed away than to drive you anywhere."

I scowled.

Goodfellow motioned towards my expression with a wave of his hand before smugly putting in his two cents. "I rest my case."

_Jackass._

"Shut up," I snapped before turning to my brother.

Instantly, both of my brows disappeared behind my dark bangs. Niko was leaning in the doorway between his room and the living room wearing his long coat that was undoubtedly concealing at least a dozen weapons. "I take it we're leaving?"

I hadn't even realized he'd left the room, not that it surprised me. My freaky brother could dance circles around you before you even realized something was moving.

I watched him… he was calm, ready. The thoughtful look in his gray eyes told me he was running through his mental checklist. Assuring himself that he had everything he could possibly need for this job, and probably then some.

Niko's eyes met mine, and he nodded. "Grab what you need. We might as well go now."

"Alright." I turned to Goodfellow who was still lounging on the sofa. "So, you coming?"

The puck released a long suffering sigh, his fingers scratching idly through the hair at the base of his skull, "If I must."

I grinned. Niko only shook his head as I passed him while heading towards my bedroom.

"I don't know why you still want him to come along," Niko commented, the hint of amusement leaking through in his voice. "He's only going to drive you crazy."

I shrugged and replied casually, "Maybe. Or the tables could turn."

I made my way to my room, cleared the doorway, and released the breath that seemed to be stuck behind the lump in my throat. Bugging Loman was always fun, but tonight I was just happy there would be another capable fighter along for the ride. Robin had helped save our asses more than once in the short time that we'd known him, and although my gut was still protesting this job I took a little comfort in him tagging along.

_Easy_. I sure as hell hoped so.

_TBC_


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary:** It's been a few weeks since the fiasco with the Mjolnir and the brother's are working their next job. Cal's convinced Goodfellow to tag along when the job throws them another curveball. Follow-up to "The Mjolnir".

**AN:** Thanks again to Amy and Dana for helping me with this chapter. You guys are awesome!

xxx

"This place is a fucking dump," I grumbled.

"You were expecting something extravagant?" Niko's brow twitched upward as he asked the question. Obviously _someone_ was expecting this spectacular view.

"Well I wouldn't go that far, but this place looks like it's about to fall over." Goodfellow's murmured _understatement_ wasn't unheard by either of us. We just chose to ignore him.

Looking at the building I couldn't figure out how the hell it was still standing, never mind _why _it was still standing. The old building was three stories high and it'd be pushing it to say that there were more than two windows actually still intact. The door was boarded up in a sad attempt to keep people out, and I could see some sort of wrinkled notice pinned to the crisscrossed boards. It was more than likely telling people to stay that hell out, but it was a waste of paper considering that if someone or _something _wanted in, using the front door wasn't exactly a necessity.

Now the windows? Those were more practical, and it looked like they had been pretty useful for easy entry… although I had no clue who the hell would be stupid enough to go inside. There were whole sections of wall missing, broken bricks and glass scattered below on the ground. Looking at the missing pieces reminded me of a warped game of Jenga. Remove one more piece and it would all come tumbling down.

I was pretty sure the space could be used for something a little more useful, too. I was thinking somewhere along the lines of a Chinese restaurant, maybe a pizza place… My stomach made a gurgling noise at the thought of food. I'd have to bribe Nik to get something on the way back to the apartment later. I was all for taking risks, but even I wasn't stupid enough to get near what was in our fridge, never mind eat it.

"Why the hell does our _client _care about this shitty place anyway? This mess isn't suitable for the rats never mind anything living… or not-so-living in this case." I wrinkled my nose at the unidentifiable pile of slime my sneaker had just got sucked into. The shoe came close to becoming the first casualty as I took a step forward and it almost stayed behind, sticky puke colored strands stretching from the ground to the bottom of my shoe. It was freaking gross. Our second job and I was already considering asking for a damn raise – or a career change.

Niko sighed. "I believe it's the fact that the Balaur is using Mr. Rachis' own clients for nourishment and subsequently hurting his business that has him more than a little annoyed with his new neighbor. This place doesn't belong to our client, but it is the current residence of tonight's job."

"Like that oversized bag of feathers has never snacked on a person or two in his time," Robin scoffed. "His kind would gladly eat a human as the main course. They've only recently realized that it is much more entertaining to take their money than it is to eat them."

Niko raised a golden eyebrow. "Was that your conclusion as well?"

"_Me?_" He pointed to himself and shivered dramatically. "Absolutely _not_. The day I eat a human is the day I shop at the local thrift store."

And that would be a cold day in hell. Nothing good could come from Loman in a thrift store.

I snorted. "So I guess you were a leaves and sticks kinda guy then, huh? 'Cause I have to say, I can't imagine you being a harpoon wielding hunter of animals back in the good ol' days."

Niko snorted, and Robin gave me an annoyed look. "I did _not_ eat sticks… well, not that I can remember anyway." Goodfellow looked lost in thought for a moment, and I could only shake my head. I couldn't imagine being around for as long as he had. It was kind of freaky to think that you'd been around so long you couldn't even remember what the hell you used to eat before the days of drive-thru's and five star restaurants.

Before we could continue with the odd topic, Niko held his index finger up to his lips and motioned for us to follow him around the side of the dilapidated building.

It was a tight squeeze between the rusted chain link fence and the dirty bricks holding up the old store… well, it could have been a store. A long, _long_ time ago. Maybe.

Robin made a disgusted face at the smear of dirt across his left shoulder and I could only smirk, much to his annoyance. Too caught up with Goodfellow's wardrobe I didn't notice the broken glass under my feet until it was crunching into the pavement beneath my sneakers and my brother was throwing me a sharp glare. I shrugged and he rolled his eyes.

"Watch out for that," Robin whispered sarcastically while pointing down at the glass.

I jabbed him in the ribs and shot back, "No shit, jackass."

My brother sighed and continued walking. "Why we even bother to be subtle I have no clue."

I smirked. "Because it's a good plan. It's just that Robin's big mouth usually ruins it."

"_My_ big mouth?" The puck scowled indignantly. "You are about as stealthy as a rhinoceros, and you blame my mouth for the fact that the bad guys can hear us coming from a mile away?"

"Bad guys?" I raised a brow and couldn't keep the grin off my face. "And you say _I'm_ the child?"

The puck growled and I was quite proud of my accomplishment. It wasn't easy to ruffle Goodfellow's feathers and it was providing a good distraction. It was one more thing to keep my mind from what had only happened a few weeks before. This was an easy job, and I had Loman to annoy. Keeping those two things in mind I squeezed passed Robin, ignoring his cursing, and followed the path my brother had taken. Niko was focused on the job and I could tell that he was scouting the area, determining his plan of action to get this done as quickly and as easily as possible – and preferably with no bloodshed on our part.

A few more yards and I caught up with my brother, Robin not far behind me.

"I haven't seen nor heard anything, but if I had to guess I'd say down there would be our best bet."

I groaned when I saw where Niko was pointing. It was a door that undoubtedly led down to the basement. As if the outside of the rickety building wasn't ominous enough, now he wanted to go _inside _– and into the basement no less. I didn't feel safe standing next to it, never mind _under _it.

"You've got to be shitting me." Even as the words left my mouth I knew it was useless. Robin shot a smirk in my direction and followed my brother's lead. I could read the teasing in the puck's eyes, and with a huff of annoyance I followed them to the door. When I got there my brother was already crouching down, working to pick the lock on the rotted door. We may not be subtle, but there was no need send out an announcement that the party had arrived.

The rusted lock made a stuttered but soft click, and Niko turned the knob, gently pushing the door open. Of course there were no lights. And too bad for me my unnaturally strong sense of smell didn't come with night vision. That was more Niko's field, and I had to wonder, not for the first time, what the hell was in my brother's DNA as he gracefully made his was down the stairs and into the darkened basement.

Of course, Robin followed behind him with little difficulty, but _me_? I had to hold onto the doorframe just so I wouldn't topple down the flight of stairs after my first blind step. The dull street lamp had helped us find our way back here, but once we had cleared the corner and made our way to the door our only light was the sporadic rays from the moon as the dark grey clouds passed.

It also didn't help that the stairs were unnaturally steep. It would be just my luck to trip, fall, and break something.

"This is ridiculous," I complained. The faint shush I got in return could have come from my brother or Robin, I wasn't sure. There was another faint click and a thin line of light shone from a small flashlight in Goodfellow's hand. I shot the puck a hard glare. "I'm stumbling around like a blind man and you've got a flashlight?"

"I could always take out my cell phone and _call_ Puff the Magic Dragon." There was no mistaking the heavy sarcasm in Robin's voice. "If we're going to completely bypass all attempts of sneaking up on the Balaur, we might as well go all out."

I was trying to remember _why_ I had wanted the puck to come along again.

Oh, that's right... It was the possibility of a repeat performance with the psychotic mystic priestesses and the power tools from hell that had encouraged me to invite him, but fucking hell if Loman wasn't getting on my last nerve. This was _supposed_ to be an easy job, but I could see that Goodfellow was starting to get twitchy as hell. His shoulders were tense, and from what I could see it would take a crow bar to get the flashlight pried from his fingers. I could practically _feel_ the tension radiating from the puck, and I had to admit it was making me more than a little nervous.

"What the hell is your problem? You were fine until we found the door down here. What changed?" Something was off and it didn't sit well with me. My palms were sweaty, and my fingers were itching to grab the glock I had tucked in my waist band. I already had a white-knuckled grip on the eight inch blade in my hand, but the gun was my security blanket.

Robin didn't say anything, just faced the other way and kept walking. I caught Niko's eyes in the limited light and I could see the slight shrug of his shoulders and the curious glance he sent the puck's way.

We walked down the hallway and into a larger room. It seemed like the room could have been used for storage at one time, but it was hard to tell now. The air had the damp, musty smell that all basements seemed to have and I wrinkled my nose. What did surprise me was that other than the usual smells of an old cellar, I couldn't smell anything out of the ordinary. If our buddy was using this place as his humble abode, I couldn't tell, and that fact was a little more unnerving than I was willing to admit.

The silence was only permeated by the steady drip from the leaky pipes, and I waved a hand in front of my face as the spider webs hanging from the ceiling clung to my skin.

Goodfellow was in the lead with the flash light, and I was bringing up the rear. Things were still pretty quiet, _too quiet_, but I used the opportunity to look at my brother. His stone-faced features would give nothing away to anyone else, but I could read my brother like a book.

All of Niko's senses were tuned in to our surroundings. The sounds, or lack thereof, the smell, what little we could see, and I caught a quick glimpse of silver from my brother's katana in the small shadows coming from the dim light of the flashlight. Niko was always on guard, the picture of perfect attention and keen awareness, but at the moment he was as lost as I was. The sudden change in Goodfellow's mood was odd, and more than a little unsettling.

"Robin, if there's something not right here it would be greatly appreciated if you would share with the class." Niko's tone was light, but there was no mistaking that he expected an honest answer.

The puck stopped and his gaze jumped from me to Niko. He gave a quick shrug of his shoulder.

"I'm not sure," he sighed, "but something doesn't seem right. These things are dumb, there's no denying that they barely have one brain cell shared between whatever brains are rattling around in their heads, but we've all but put on the flashing neon lights announcing our arrival, and still… nothing. I was expecting the Balaur to make an appearance by now."

I was clueless. I knew this thing was some kind of miniature dragon with flippers, but I didn't know the specifics – that's what Niko was for. He had briefed Robin on the way over here, so the puck had a good idea of what the game plan was.

My brother was just about to say something when there was an odd slipping and tapping noise that seemed to come from all around the room. My gaze snapped in one direction and I saw Niko do the same. I couldn't see a thing. The light coming from Goodfellow's small flashlight didn't illuminate anything more than a few feet past our own faces. I was just about to turn towards the other direction when I found myself airborne once again that night.

This was really getting ridiculous.

It was bad enough that my brother had an annoying tendency to send me flying across the room, I didn't need this piece of shit to join in too. My squawk of surprise was cut off when the large _thing _connected with my chest, and I grunted when I landed in a heap against the far wall.

I caught a quick glimpse of rubbery gray skin, and a big mass of lumbering flesh during my flight. I was starting to think _miniature_ wasn't the appropriate word to use in describing this dragon. It wasn't big-as-a-house huge, but I had no freaking clue how it could fit down here never mind actually move.

I shifted my legs a little and I was pretty sure by the cool wetness seeping into my pants that I had landed in a puddle. And wasn't that just freaking awesome? How the word 'fun' had ever managed to make it past my lips in reference to this job, I had no idea. This shit wasn't _fun_. It was, however, pissing me off, and the slight pulling in my back muscles only managed to irritate me more. Tomorrow I'd be walking like the grandpa I'd accused Niko of being.

Readjusting my grip on the gun that was still locked in my fist with an iron hold, I was just about to push myself up from the floor when a large slimy snout appeared in front of my face and a cool puff of air blew my hair out of my eyes.

Up close and personal with the Loch Ness Monster's long lost cousin. My night was complete.

Groaning, my head fell back against the concrete wall, and _away _from the big freaking nose. My ass was already getting soggy; I didn't need Nessie's snots on my face.

My gaze shifted to the side and I realized that not only had I landed in the stupid puddle, I had also managed to get stuck between one wall and a shit load of old wooden crates. I wasn't looking forward to a swim through the sea of wooden boxes, but my odds of going through the brick wall were pretty damn slim.

Ignoring that little hurdle, I moved on to option number two.

I couldn't see my brother or Robin in the darkness of the basement, and I couldn't hear them either, but that didn't surprise me. When the shit hit the fan, there was no brushing off the skills that were necessary in this job. We had come in thinking this would be easy, and didn't bother being quiet about what we were doing. But now… now I was stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place, and if my brother didn't want to be heard, he wouldn't be.

I wasn't exactly comfortable with this thing invading my bubble of personal space, but I had my gun in one hand and a big brother that was undoubtedly sneaking up behind the Balaur to reassure me. It was a tossup, which of the two was more lethal. I wasn't exactly in the best position to debate that, but I did know one thing for sure…

We were in for a long damn night.

"Fan-fucking-tastic."

_tbc_

xxx

Thanks for reading! I hope you guys liked this chapter!

On a little side note… Ames449 has started a new website called The Writers Guild. It's a place where writers can post their fanfiction and, of course, read other writers' work. There's also a Writers Guild forum up and running where people can discuss TV shows, books, fanfiction, and a variety of other things.

So far we've got _Supernatural, Prison Break, _Rob Thurman's series, and a few other discussions going, but as more people join in new fandoms and topics will be added.

Hope to see you guys over on The Writers Guild!!

http : / / www (dot) writersguild101 (dot) bravehost (dot) com /

And the forum site is…

http : / / writersguild (dot) hyperboards (dot) com / index (dot) php

Just take out the spaces and put in the dots and you should be good to go!


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